To avert a war in the Middle East at this very late date,
something very dramatic and morally mobilizing to hundreds
of millions of people must happen immediately: the Pope and
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and possibly other famous
people, must put themselves personally on the line and go to
Baghdad and act as human shields to the Iraqi people.
Even George Bush would not dare to bomb Baghdad if the Pope
and the UN Secretary-General, a Nobel Peace Prize winner,
along with other famous people, were there.
At the same time, the Pope and Kofi Annan must have a plan
of action. This is what I think it should be:
1. They should call for the establishment of a peaceful, UN
Trusteeship over Iraq, jointly administered with the help of
the Organization of the Islamic Conference (an
intergovernmental organization of 57 Islamic nations), under
which Iraq would be supervised by the UN and the OIC into
compliance with international law and the resolutions of the
Security Council. (Getting the UN Security Council to act in
conjunction with the OIC is vital so that Arabs and Muslims
would be helping to solve a world problem, and so that the
Trusteeship would not be a "West versus East, Christian
versus Muslim" type of intervention but a collective action
of the UN and the Middle East region as a whole.)
2. Saddam and the inner circle of his regime would go into
internal exile under house arrest, but not be charged with
war crimes, and the bureaucracy of the Iraqi government
would stay in power and perform ordinary civil and policing
functions under UN supervision. (This would help motivate
Saddam to accept this deal and also preserve internal
stability in Iraq.)
3. In exchange for Saddam’’s and Iraq's agreement to accept
this joint UN-OIC Trust status, the US and the UK would be
asked to back off and to agree, along with other countries,
not to act unilaterally but to put their forces under
strictly collective UN Security Council supervision, as
called for in the UN Charter under Article 43. Adequate
international forces acting solely under Security Council
authority would remain stationed in the Middle East region
to overcome any Iraqi non-compliance if necessary. Ongoing
military strikes against Iraqi targets would cease.
4. Under the Trust, the genocidal economic sanctions regime
would also be ended, and humanitarian aid inspectors would
make sure that dual use items got to the proper people and
not to the military. Public health would be restored.
5. Similarly, the weapons inspections would continue and
increase in number up to whatever level would assure
international peace and security. Any weapons found would be
destroyed.
6. Similarly human rights monitors would inspect and help
ensure the enforcement of international human rights. The
rule of law and the judicial and justice systems in Iraq
would be restored .
7. The Pope and Kofi Annan should also call for the people
of the Middle East region themselves to be involved in
establishing and approving this joint UN-OIC trust, i.e.,
the peoples of the Middle East should approve the idea by a
plebiscite at some point, both inside Iraq and regionally.
(If one of the aims of the International Community is to
increase democracy in this part of the world, what better
way to do so than by starting immediately and using direct
democracy to help avert a war and to support a plan for a
peaceful solution. I think that a plebiscite on establishing
the UN Trusteeship, averting war, and helping get Iraq back
to normal in a peaceful way jointly through the UN and the
OIC would enjoy overwhelming public support, in contrast to
public reaction to a US invasion.)
8. The plan would look beyond just Iraq and call for the
implementation of a zone in the Middle East free of weapons
of mass destruction -- an idea the UN General Assembly has
been proposing for decades and which the Security Council
must implement as a matter off international peace and
security under Chapter 7 of the Charter. Iraq is just part
of this zone, and we must not lose sight of the larger aim,
which is security and cooperation and prosperity for all in
the entire Middle East, including Israel and Palestine.
9. Life in Iraq would be restored to normal as quickly as
possible; and under UN-OIC supervision, genuine democratic
elections would eventually be held, restoring the country to
the people of Iraq.
I think if people of the stature of the Pope and the UN
Secretary-General, and other possible famous people, took
this upon themselves, and called for this plan of action,
and if they called for global public understanding and
appreciation of Islamic and Arabic contributions to world
civilization, and for a global mobilization of religion in
the cause of peace, they could bring about a miracle of
peace and avert the immense disaster in international and
intercultural relations which is now about to happen.
(Incidentally, I'm not a Catholic, so I’’m not covertly
promoting my own brand of theology.)
Uniting for Peace. An idea that could help this plan of
action would be for the UN General Assembly to call for the
Pope and Kofi Annan to undertake this mission and authorize
it under the Uniting for Peace procedure, where the United
States has no veto power. Doing so would give this action,
and the United Nations, even more moral authority and
integrity.
If the nations of the world and the major religions of the
world would unite for peace at this critical moment in
history, I believe war and its incalculable subsequent
misery for both the present and for future generations,
could be averted.
This scenario would indeed be "high stakes drama" on the
international stage, but what other option is left?
We cannot let this catastrophe occur. We must make this
effort.
If this plan makes sense to you, put yourself on the line a
little bit, and pass this idea along to the UN Secretary
General and to the Pope and to other famous people both
directly and through whatever other subchannels of
communication might also reach them.
Time is running out! The darkness of war is almost about to
overwhelm us.
Let us act for our own integrity as global United Nations
citizen peacekeepers. Let us act for a sustainable community
and future on Earth, and let us act to save the people of
Iraq!
The Vatican UN Observer Mission is at: Holy See, Permanent
Observer of Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations,
25 East 39th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016-0903 . Telephone:
(212) (212) 370-7885, Telefax: (212) 370-9622
An address for the Vatican itself is (snail mail): His
Holiness John Paul II, Apostolic Palace, 00120 Vatican City
State, Europe (Don't say Italy). The email address given by
Dr. Helen Caldicott, who is urging the Pope to undertake
this mission, is accreditamenti@pressva.va.
Try also: pcjustpax@justpeace.va.
I have no personal address for the Secretary-General, but
try addressing this appeal to him at inquiries@un.org. Try
looking at the UN web site, www.un.org, for possible email
for the Secretary General or other people in his office. You
might also try sending copies to UNESCO at
webmaster@unescso.org and to the High Commissioner for Human
Rights at webadmin.hchr@unog.ch.
If anyone finds better addresses, please let me know.
To take an even further step, go the UN System web site,
and click on "Missions to the UN." This lists the various
Member State missions to the UN. Some of them have emails
to which you can send this appeal. Send it especially to
members of the Security Council, to countries in the
region of Iraq, to Islamic countries, and to other major
Third World countries.